Ecology

19:06, 29.04.2008 | Far East Russia

Four last fires in the forests in the Amur region and the Primorsky territory on an area of more than 500 hectares were put down on Sunday. For the first time from the beginning of the fire-prone season no forest fire was reported in Russia’s Far East, a source in the Far East regional emergencies center told Itar-Tass on Monday.

The rains and sleet helped the taiga defenders to extinguish the fires. A cold spell and heavy rains were reported at a huge territory stretching out from the Amur region to the Primorsky territory and Sakhalin.

From the beginning of the fire-prone season 476 fires were reported in the Far East Federal District, more than 88.4 thousand hectares of forests and 71,000 hectares of non-forest areas have burnt down, the forestry department of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources in the Far East Federal District said. Three fires broke out in the national parks, where 501 hectares of forests and 8,000 hectares of non-woody areas have burnt down, the forestry department said.


-itar-tass